While 2026 kicks off with a new drive for VAT-free chicken, there are other important issues the poultry industry also hopes to resolve this year.
High on that list are an agreement with the government on practical and affordable regulations for vaccination against bird flu, and an end to the government’s refusal to compensate chicken farmers for the birds it orders them to cull during bird flu outbreaks.
This is going to be a very high-risk year for bird flu. Northern hemisphere regions such as Europe and the United States have had one of the worst bird flu years in history. As the disease is carried by migratory birds, it could herald for new outbreaks in South Africa as the winter months approach.
That makes vaccination all the more important, but the mass vaccination campaign promised last year by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has not materialised. His department continues to insist on regulations which farmers say are too onerous and too expensive. As a result, vaccination has been implemented on only one poultry farm.
The compensation issue is in legal limbo. In May 2024, the High Court ordered the government to end its policy of setting compensation payments at zero. The government is appealing against this decision – a move that is being opposed by the poultry industry – but so far there has been no progress.
The immediate focus, then, is on getting VAT-free chicken approved, in the main budget next month or in the medium-term budget in a few months’ time.
Last November the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) sent a detailed submission to the Treasury. It followed this with media statement explaining the dietary benefits of chicken and why VAT-free chicken is essential in a country where poverty and malnutrition are spreading.
